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| Dublin, Ireland |
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| Information |
Suicide Plot
In the 18th and 19th Century, this corner of Clonliffe and Ballybough Roads near Ballybough Bridge, was designated as the unconsecrated cemetery grounds to bury suicide victims, highwaymen and robbers. Given their nefarious nature, it was a tradition for a wooden stake to be driven through their hearts to keep their spirits pinned to their final resting place and not free to trouble the locals. It was also believed that those that took their own lives and/or committed heinous acts while alive would in fact become vampires in death. In this case, the stake served a double purpose of keeping the spirit in their casket, as well as destroying the vampire before it could take form.
Bram Stoker
After recovering from his mysterious childhood illness, this cemetery would become a favorite haunt of Bram Stoker. It was said that he was endlessly fascinated by this history of "Suicide Plot" and would spend hours wandering the grounds. It is not much of a stretch to see how this cemetery served as an inspiration for his most successful novel, Dracula. In fact, the cemetery itself might have actually been the inspiration for one of the novel's key locations.
Whitby Cemetery
The very real town of Whitby, England played a predominant role in the novel Dracula. It was in Whitby that the ship Demeter crashed into the rocks and a shape of black dog jumps from the ship, runs up the town's steps, and disappears in the town's cemetery. In the cemetery, Dracula takes refuge in the grave of a suicide victim. That suicide victim was one George Canon, who fell down the cliffs after shooting himself in the head, so that his mother would not get the life insurance claim she bought for him. The grave also happens to be the favorite spot for the character of Lucy to sit and rest. Lucy is later lured to the very cemetery by the vampire and becomes one of his first victims. It is quite possible that the cemetery and/or the actual grave itself could actually be traced back to Stoker's younger years wandering Ballybough's Suicide Plot.
The Cemetery Today
It is unclear whether this burial plot still exists to this day or has since been developed. |
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| Related Sites |
Wikipedia: Ballybough
Wikipedia's entry on the Ballybough district of Dublin, including information about the "Suicide Plot," which inspired Dracula author Bram Stoker. |
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| Similar Destinations |
| Forest Hill Cemetery, Greencastle, IN |
| Ferncliff Cemetery and Mausoleum |
| Chestnut Hill Baptist Church Cemetery |
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| See Also on TheCabinet.com |
| Dracula by Bram Stoker |
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| Available from Amazon.com |
Bram Stoker and the Man Who Was Dracula |
Dracula's Crypt: Bram Stoker, Irishness, and the Question of Blood |
Dracula (Signet Classics) |
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